Need advice about what to buy for...

[Semitallsmalls]

Here's the setup:
Studio Apartment
TV in living room gets signal via a General Electrics Cable Box
Bedroom is divided from the living room by the wall.
I have the Haupague PVR2 for my laptop.
I'd like to be able to watch tv and change its channels from my laptop using Sage. What do I need to buy? USB-UIRT seems like it may be too much since I already have an IR reciever for my tv-tuner built in. But I've been wrong before.

Also, some of the buttons on the origonal remote for the cable box don't work anymore and I was unsure if I would be able to use these buttons from my haupague once I purchased the required product.

Thanks for your advice.
-Mike

[Semitallsmalls]

any help would be appreciated.

[dagar]

You should cross post to here --> http://htpcnews.com/forums/index.php?showforum=30

Quite a few of us are at both sites

[Grasshopper]

Do you want your laptop to be mobile (wireless)? Or is it going to stay in one spot?

[salsbst]

Originally Posted by Semitallsmalls

Here's the setup:
Studio Apartment
TV in living room gets signal via a General Electrics Cable Box
Bedroom is divided from the living room by the wall.
I have the Haupague PVR2 for my laptop.
I'd like to be able to watch tv and change its channels from my laptop using Sage. What do I need to buy? USB-UIRT seems like it may be too much since I already have an IR reciever for my tv-tuner built in. But I've been wrong before.

I'm not all that clear on what you are trying to accomplish.

Also, some of the buttons on the origonal remote for the cable box don't work anymore and I was unsure if I would be able to use these buttons from my haupague once I purchased the required product.

You can probably find another person with the same cable box to get the remote codes from, or find them posted on places like remotecentral.com.

[Semitallsmalls]

Sorry if i wasn't clear.
I'd like to point the remote at the haupague and have it change the channels on the GE cable box which is divided from this room by a wall, and so I can't change the channel without walking around a wall. Also, with my current set up my haupague can't schedule recordings on any other channel but the one my cable box is set to. Wireless would be pretty neat but if its much more $ then I could just stick to wired as the cable box isnt far from my laptop, its just on the other side of a dividing wall.

[salsbst]

Do you have a desktop computer near the cable box? You don't mention one.

If you really just want a laptop to be able to change channels on the cable box from a different room, then an IR over RF repeater http://www.crutchfieldadvisor.com/IS...om_remote.html would do the trick.

But you probably also want the AV from the cable box to go to the laptop, right?

[Grasshopper]

If all you want is to change the channel on the box in the next room, then salsbt's solution is the cheapest -- but that doesn't get you watching on your laptop.

There are a couple of ways to approach this. One would be to move the cable box to the laptop's location, and control it via Firewire, a USB-UIRT, or maybe your laptop has a built-in emitter. Then buy a MediaMVP and run it as a Sage client for the TV in the living room. Network 'em together, and there you are. You can even watch two different recorded shows at once, one on the laptop and the other on the TV.

Another way (more expensive, but more flexible) would be to buy a cheap desktop PC and use it to run Sage in your entertainment center. Plug the Hauppauge USB into it, again connect it to the cable box, and use it to drive the TV. (Computers are cheap when you don't need a monitor). Then get a high-speed wireless LAN set up and run Sage Client on your laptop over the wireless LAN. This way, the laptop is fully wireless (not tethered to the Hauppauge).

[Semitallsmalls]

thanks for the resonse. I guess usb-uirt is the way i will want to go. At home I didn't need a cable box to receive basic cable channels, and I was able to tune from my laptop. This was great since I was able to schedule a bunch of shows playing at different times and at different channels to record while I was out. Since I'm at school, and any tunning must be done via the cable box (ie. i have to be there to tune it as i would if i was on the couch with the remote) I assume USB-UIRT will bridge this hole and allow Sage to function as it did when I was at home. Plus when I do go home, I'll be able to use sage to watch digital tv. So, you think usb-uirt is a good solution?